Deep Trouble With Consequences
by E. J. Morgan
Summary: 'Deep Trouble' (S05E24 and S06E01) ended differently with lasting consequences for everyone. Alternate ending to the storyline, one shot.


**Deep Trouble With Consequences**

„Oh, my God! Guys!" – Kensi shouted into her comm, catching the attention of everyone standing transfixed in Ops, and alerting Deeks who had buried his head in his palms upon seeing the explosion. – "There's movement in the water! Do you copy? _Someone's down there!_"

**NCIS LA * NCIS LA * NCIS LA * NCIS LA * NCIS LA * NCIS LA**

Not long after being rescued from the sea, Nell had just finished checking Sam's cuts and bruises and declared he would be fine but needed to take it easy for a while.

"I'm okay. It's G who gave himself a concussion trying to open that hatch." – The ex-SEAL chuckled then groaned, trying not to fidget too noticeably because in reality: his whole body just hurt. He ignored the dirty look his best friend and honorable brother shot him from across the table and turned to their other two teammates instead. – "You two all right? You look pale…" – He observed. And really, they were all so subdued, even Deeks hadn't joked the whole time since they'd been back safely which was very uncharacteristic for him.

Kensi seemed troubled by the question while her blond-haired partner visibly flinched.

"Yeah…" – He said finally. – "We're good… I mean… Yes. Fine…"

Talia quickly excused herself, muttering something about needing to report to her own boss at DEA, while Eric and Nell exchanged weird glances.

Sam's patience was wearing thin. He was tired as hell and just wanted to go home to Michelle and his kids and sleep undisturbed for a week. He was also somewhat angry that Hetty hadn't made an appearance; didn't she want to see the two of them with her own eyes after the day's ordeal!?

"What?" – He snapped after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

Nell and Kensi visibly flinched. Eric averted his eyes and G just continued to sit in silence and observe his partner, so it was Deeks who reluctantly took it upon himself to try and talk some sense into him.

"Sam, man… maybe you should try to rest a bit?" – He asked uncertainly, looking at Kensi for help.

She nodded in agreement.

"Come on, I'll take you home to your family. They must be worried about you…"

Family and home sounded great, so with a meaningful glance toward his partner, Sam nodded and gathered his things. For once, his friend followed him without complaint so the three of them made their way to Kensi's car with Sam making a mental note to place some phone calls the next day to get new car keys for his Challenger.

Still fuming at his own stupidity for forgetting the keys at the bottom of the ocean, he took the passenger seat, leaving Callen to climb into the back of the car, eyes flashing angrily at this development.

He even kicked the back or Sam's seat out of frustration, which only made the large man chuckle.

"Ahm… Sam? What is so funny?" – Kensi inquired, glancing into the rear way mirror to find out what had happened to make her teammate laugh.

Sam just shook his head and closed his eyes tiredly. She wouldn't understand anyway: Callen and him… they had a special relationship. Some people would say they were like oil and water; actually, he was pretty sure some higher-ups had even placed bets at first when they had been paired together to see how long they would last… but in reality, they respected each other's boundaries – well, most of the time – and the younger man was like a little brother to him. Granted, a very annoying little brother but a brother nonetheless.

It was funny how, in the very beginning of their working together, Hetty had been the only one to believe this whole thing could work out. Sam, who had never heard of the young blue-eyed skinny-ass agent before, had gone and gathered information about his soon-to-be partner, only to learn that the young man was brilliant, one of a kind smart, an expert of languages and nailed undercover operations like nobody he's ever met before. He could become anyone in a matter of seconds and walked into situations with a self-assured air even the most experiences operators usually lacked.

Also, he was stubborn as hell (by now, Sam could attest to that whole-heartedly!) and it was a miracle if someone could gain his trust with hard work and a lot of time. G was the agent who would challenge even Director Vance without fearing the repercussion, who wouldn't think twice about going rouge or lone wolf on them whenever he thought it was warranted and who had no trouble changing the plans unexpectedly and walking straight into the lion's den without backup at any given time, consequences be damned. It was no wonder he didn't last long with any agency: FBI, CIA and DEA had all tried to keep him for themselves but had failed spectacularly.

And thus, it was essential for NCIS to have someone run their new LA office whom he would accept at least to the extent where he could be guided and grounded. He'd liked Lara Macy well enough to let her _believe_ she was in charge sometimes but that was just for show: when it really mattered, G just did what he wanted. He had disappeared for days without telling anyone where he went and would miraculously reappear when needed. In the end, Lara had stopped trying to find him and everyone had just pretended it was normal for an agent to be MIA for longer periods of time.

Really, it was clear: Hetty and ONLY Hetty could reign him in when needed. After the shooting – that _horrible, horrible day_ – when Macy had finally admitted defeat and their previous 'silent observer' Hetty had taken over, things changed: even though Callen would still go off on his own sometimes, now he usually listened and even if he didn't like some of Hetty's orders, he mostly heeded them.

With that, Sam and G's partnership had developed as well. Sam, as an ex-SEAL, had a hard time understanding the unruliness of the younger man but now with Hetty keeping him on leash, their work together was very rewarding and their friendship blossomed to its fullest. They had become a family and he hoped to God G saw it this way, too.

Now, if only he would stop moping about the seating arrangement…

**NCIS LA * NCIS LA * NCIS LA * NCIS LA * NCIS LA * NCIS LA**

"Come on, G. Michelle and the kids love you, they wouldn't mind if you stayed tonight." – Seeing his friend preparing to shake his head, he added. – "You've crashed at my place a hundred times, so why not now?"

They had just gotten out of Kensi's car and were standing in front of the Hanna household, arguing, like an old, married couple. Sam couldn't believe his friend could be this stubborn even after everything they'd been through that day. He just wanted to have his partner close for a while to make sure he was really okay; was that too much to ask for?

Apparently, it was, because the younger man remained hell-bent on getting his way, so in the end, it was Sam alone who opened the door and entered the elegant and comfortably furnished suburban house that was his home and he found himself immediately enveloped in his wife's waiting arms.

"Oh, God, Sam! I was so worried! Hetty called, I heard what happened… It's horrible, I'm so sorry! I can't believe it…"

The senior agent embraced his wife, wondering why their operations manager would make such a fuss and call his family, especially when she hadn't even bothered talking to them in person? After all, they were in mortal peril almost every day, it's not like this was anything special… Not that he minded being hugged by his beautiful wife, of course, but still, he was very confused by everyone's behavior.

"It's fine, 'Chelle. We're all right."

For some reason, she didn't seem to believe him and Sam couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something everyone else was aware of…

**NCIS LA * NCIS LA * NCIS LA * NCIS LA * NCIS LA * NCIS LA**

The next morning, Sam's mood wasn't any better when he entered the bullpen to find his partner at his desk, reading the newspaper and oblivious to the world.

"G, where were you?" – His friend looked up slowly, tired eyes searching his own. Why was the stupid man looking like he hadn't slept a smidge last night? He only needed about twenty minutes for a catnap so it's not like it was so hard to squeeze into his tight schedule, was it!? Speaking of schedules… - "You were supposed to pick me up! I still don't have my car key, remember?" – Callen just blinked, clearly not seeing the problem. – "I had to call Uber!" – Sam continued lamenting, dropping his bag onto the table with far more force than necessary. – "The driver was a mother with two young children crying and screaming on the back seat, G! Can you imagine the headache I have right now? I didn't even know Uber drivers were allowed to-"

"Sam?" – It was Eric, coming down into the bullpen, and seeming surprised to find him there. – "I thought Hetty told you to stay home today… I…"

"Hetty didn't tell me _anything_!" – Sam snapped. – "And why would I want to stay home? What's going on here? Where are Kensi and Deeks!"

"Ahm…" – Eric was saved from having to answer when Nell appeared on top of the stairs, and stared just as stunned as her colleague had a few seconds before.

"Sam? What are you-"

"If you want to ask me what I'm doing here, Nell, I promise you, I'll scream." – Sam threatened not even caring about her red and puffy eyes. He absent-mindedly threw an apple at Callen who didn't make a move to catch it, so it bounced off his desk and fell to the floor where it split, splashing its juice on everything in a two-meter radius. – "Damn."

The two young intelligence analysts exchanged frightened glances. Luckily for them, Owen Granger saw the scene and decided to intervene: he ushered them back to Ops and then walked up to Sam, eyeing the apple on the floor.

"Agent Blye and Detective Deeks have taken the day off." – He said, answering the senior agent's previous question.

"And Hetty?" – Sam wanted to know. It was starting to annoy him that she seemed to be avoiding them.

Granger sighed sadly.

"Henrietta…" – He cleared his throat. – "She needs some time."

"What does that mean? Is she on vacation?" – Even the mere idea sounded ridiculous: ever since he'd known her, Hetty had never taken a day off, not even when she was sick. Come to think of it, Hetty was probably never sick. No virus would be bold enough as to attack her…

Actually, this was true for Callen as well. Hetty and G… They could be mother and son, they were so similar in so many ways. But right now, the young man seemed to be somewhat out of it. He was so pale he nearly disappeared in the white background. Sam opened his mouth to ask about this when the Assistant Director spoke again, making Sam jump; he had completely forgotten about the man.

"No…" – He reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out an old, yellow envelope. – "She resigned…" – He admitted in a whisper.

"WHAT!? Why would she do that?" – Sam turned to Callen to see the young man's expression and was stunned to realize he couldn't detect any hint of surprise on his friend's face. Was this knowledge the reason for the haggard appearance and strange, silent behavior, maybe? If so, why hadn't G told him…?

Granger stared at the envelope, then at Callen, then at the envelope again.

"No pickpocketing it this time around, I guess…" – He whispered almost inaudibly before putting the offending paper away.

Sam was sure the assistant director was underestimating their lead agent but one glance at the blue-eyed, blond man had him thinking: G honestly didn't look like he was about to come up with any miraculous solution anytime soon. What was wrong with him? It was usually Callen who always kept his confidence and his colleagues guarded. If he gave this up, what would happen to all of them!?

"Don't you want to do something?" – He asked irritated, and when both just gave him a frightened look, he jumped up and announced he was going home. – "Hopefully, everyone will have gone back to normal by tomorrow."

With that, he disappeared, leaving a bunch of confused and sad people staring after him.

**NCIS LA * NCIS LA * NCIS LA * NCIS LA * NCIS LA * NCIS LA**

"I'm telling you, Michelle, everyone's gone crazy!" – He complained, sitting at the kitchen table and sipping his coffee while his wife was preparing dinner for them both. The kids were spending the night at their grandparents' house so that the parents could have some time for themselves. – "Hetty resigned and Kensi and Deeks just took the day off as if everything was peachy? What the hell?"

Michelle turned to face him, her eyes full of compassion and unshed tears.

"This is a very difficult time for everyone, Sam. People will react differently…" – She sighed. – "You don't have to remain so strong either, you know. Nobody expects you to be."

"But 'Chelle, I used to be a SEAL. It's not as if I can afford to fall to pieces every time something bad happens…"

"Sure, but this is not like any time before…"

"I admit, being in the submarine was scary as hell…" – Sam reluctantly said, allowing himself for the first time since the whole ordeal ended to show weakness. – "There was a point where I was certain we'd die down there. I was already drafting a letter to you and the kids, even though I know it's stupid; I mean, how would you have gotten it anyway?" – Michelle sat down next to him and held his hand without saying a word. She wanted to give him the opportunity to talk freely about what had happened, especially since she didn't have the details. It seemed, nobody really knew what the two NCIS agents had gone through. – "But G, he wasn't fazed. Not at all. It was as if he had regarded the whole thing as a great adventure. He didn't even care about the possibility of death!" – By now, Sam was gesticulating wildly, finally having the possibility to rant. – "Who behaves like that? I wanted to reach over and shake some sense into him. Shout into his face: 'do you really believe no one cares about what happens to you?' But somehow, his behavior grounded me; his jokes gave me strength. I still don't really understand how but we laughed and bantered…"

The ex-CIA agent sighed sadly. She hadn't seen her husband this lost before and she had no idea how to help him. The only thing she was sure about after listening to the story was that Callen's company had saved Sam from giving up hope, and she would be eternally thankful to the younger man for that.

"I'm sure this was his way of keeping his cool…" – She suggested. – "I'm convinced he didn't think nobody cared about what happened to him."

"Who knows? Without family-"

"You're whole team is family, Sam!"

"Yeah… At least, we used to be. Now though…" – With Hetty gone, things would change. G would go back to that dark place he used to be when Macy had led the LA office: a lone wolf who would much rather keep everything to himself than talk to his friends. He was already seeing the signs, since his friend refused to even have dinner with them, let alone stay the night. And he would also never forget how G had behaved when Hunter led the office: distant, distrustful and somber. Even worse than with Macy because back then, they had at least some mutual respect with the operations manager; something Hunter could never claim to have earned. – "Now, I don't know. It might all be over…"

"You believe Hetty's gone forever? She might change her mind…"

"I don't know. I don't understand anything. How could Hetty leave us like that? She didn't even talk to us before! She just left and we had to learn it from Granger!"

Michelle tried to soothe her husband by rubbing his shoulder gently.

"Don't judge her, Sam. You know this must be horrible for her."

"Nobody blames her for what happened."

"Except for herself."

Sam made a face and shook his head.

"That just doesn't make any sense."

Resigning himself not to solve the mystery tonight, Sam let out a sigh and let the topic drop – for now.

**NCIS LA * NCIS LA * NCIS LA * NCIS LA * NCIS LA * NCIS LA**

The next day didn't start out to be any better than the day before. Sam entered the bullpen to find Kensi and Deeks already at their respective desks; not talking, not working… actually not doing anything. They were both just staring ahead, lost in thoughts.

"Have you argued again…?" – The ex-SEAL guessed, having already experienced this attitude of theirs after Deeks had accidentally spilt some hot chocolate on Kensi's favorite jeans not so long ago and in turn Kensi had deliberately smeared fudge on Deeks' favorite black leather jacket. They hadn't talked to each other for two days after that incident and Sam didn't feel like he had the patience to play mediator again.

The two partners looked up as if only now realizing they weren't alone anymore.

"Sam… Oh… Hi…" – The LAPD liaison officer stuttered. – "How are you feeling?"

Kensi nodded.

"I thought maybe you wanted a bit more time to… ahm… recuperate."

Sam just rolled his eyes and decided to ask a question of his own.

"Have you heard of Hetty?"

Their reaction was just as confusing as everything else that had happened in the last two days.

"Ahm… Sam…" – Kensi cleared her throat and closed her eyes for a second before opening them again and continuing. – "She's busy planning… well… after that, I'm not sure she'll even stay in the US."

"Planning what? What is going on here?" – Now Sam was sure everyone had gone crazy, though he didn't know why. It also angered him to no end that Callen, who had quietly arrived during this conversation, wasn't trying to take his side like they always did and help him try to figure the situation out. – "You take a day off, Hetty disappears, he…" – He pointed at his partner. – "… sneaks around like a stealthy cat. Why!?"

"Sam… nobody is sneaking around." – Kensi said in an almost pitying voice. "We're just trying to be considerate."

"I don't know why you think you have to do this but you're wrong. Stop it."

"Okay, man… Sorry."

But by now, Sam had had enough. He strolled up into Ops where he knew he'd find Granger. He felt more than saw his three colleagues follow him and they entered the high-tech room together almost like a whirlwind.

"Granger! I want to know what's going on!" – He demanded, foregoing the pleasantries altogether.

Nell, Eric and the assistant director all turned to look at the committee.

"Agent Hanna, I'm going to let this slide now because of the circumstances but I suggest you rethink your attitude toward me. I'm not the enemy here."

This statement only served to anger the ex-SEAL even further.

"I don't need your pity, Granger! I need you to answer my question! What. The. Hell. Is. Going. On!?"

The assistant director stared at the riled up agent for a while before deciding not to sugarcoat the facts anymore.

"Agent Hanna, we didn't want to talk about agent Callen until you were ready. We were waiting for you to tell us what happened on your own or for Mr. Getz to arrive. But if you really don't want us to be considerate, then I'm going to ask now: _how did he die_?"

The silence that followed this question was more uncomfortable than anything the team had ever experienced before. Seeing the larger-than-life Sam stand there and gape like a fish out of water was enough to render Nell to desperate tears and Deeks to hug his partner tightly. Everyone waited with bated breath for the inevitable explosion.

An explosion that never came.

Sam blinked a few times before bursting out in a maniac laugh.

"That's good, Granger. Very good! I didn't take you for a joker type. But really: what is this all about?"

"Agent Hanna, you believe I would joke about this?"

"No, I wouldn't have. But you just said it. G died? Come on, he's standing right behind-" – He turned around to point at his best friend but couldn't see him anywhere. – "Okay. Stop this. Where is he? Is he in on this prank?" – Now Sam was becoming angry. Why would Callen go along with this nonsense!?

"Sam…" – Kensi began very cautiously. – "Callen isn't here. Hasn't been since the submarine…"

"Kensi, you too?"

"But she's right, Sam." – Eric stepped forward and pressed a few buttons on his computer. – "I'll show you."

In the next few minutes, Sam got to watch recordings of himself being treated by Nell after the rescue (there was no Callen sitting in the chair next to him, nursing a hurting head), himself leaving with Kensi for her car (with no Callen following the both of them dutifully), himself talking to an empty desk in the bullpen and throwing an apple at seemingly nothing, and finally: himself heading upstairs to Ops, followed by Kensi and Deeks. Again, no Callen in sight.

"Okay, I don't know what you're all playing at, but I've had quite enough." – Sam insisted, shaking his head in denial. – "G! Come on, G, it wasn't fun to begin with but it's getting very-very annoying now!" – He shouted, turning around, trying to find his missing partner. He was sure this was a prank. He didn't have an idea how the others had convinced Granger to play along and why Hetty wasn't putting an end to it, but still: this couldn't be real, right? – "G! Damn it, you won, all right? Just show yourself! Is that the revenge because a week ago I ate your donuts? I said I was sorry!" – He kept shouting and turning around. – "Just come back and I'll get you new ones. I ate two, right? I'll get you four. That's a great offer, isn't it?" – He brushed Deeks' hand off his shoulder and kept looking around. – "All right, all right! I'll get you breakfast every damn day for a whole _month_! Na, what do you say to that? Even that greasy, sugary, disgusting thing you like so much, if that's what you want! Just don't complain to me when your teeth rot and you gain an elephant's weight."

"Sam, please. I know it's difficult, it is for us, too. We just want to know…"

"Kensi, I really don't appreciate this!" – The ex-SEAL snapped at her. – "I would never do this to you. Why would you all gang up against me?"

"We're not ganging up. Callen's gone and we miss him as much as you do. We would like to know what happened…"

It was as if suddenly the air got sucked out of the room. Sam felt everything start to spin around him as he was 'flown back' onto the submarine, at once remembering it all. He found his memory self standing next to his panting partner while ice-cold sea water was flowing in around them. Time was running out and they knew they only had one chance at this.

'_G, once the room fills completely, we'll be able to open the hatch. You'll have to take a deep breath and-"_

"_I can't, Sam."_

"_What are you talking about? Of course, you can! So, you take a deep breath and then-"_

_His friend shook his head sadly._

"_I think I was shot…" – He said, motioning into the general direction of his torso which couldn't be seen properly in the darkness. But come to think of it, the water was getting somewhat red around him… - "Just now… It's number six, you know…"_

"_Don't be silly, I'm sure it's not bad." – Actually, he had no idea because he couldn't see anything, but he had to keep G moving. – "As soon as we're home we'll get you to a hospital, and you'll be fine. They patched you up the last time, didn't they?"_

"_Sam, I would just hold you back. You need to go alone."_

"_Don't be stupid; it's just one lousy bullet now. You survived five!"_

"_You need to go."_

"_NO! Can you even hear yourself? I'm not going without you!"_

"_Think about your family, Sam."_

By that time, his friend was so weak he couldn't even remain standing, let alone attempt to swim out with him. He should have tried to help. He should have stayed. He should have done something… But he couldn't and he had to keep going because of him family. If he died, what would happen to them? The kids needed him. Michelle needed him. So, in the end, he relented, and reluctantly left his partner – his _brother_! – behind to die alone. Probably scared. And injured.

Jesus…

Sam fell to his knees and gasped. He didn't even notice the tears that started to run down his face.

"He's gone." – He admitted for the first time. – "And he's not coming back."

He knew for a fact he wouldn't have a partner like G. Callen anymore and also that the team would never be the same. Hetty wouldn't come back; not without her 'son' being here. It had only been Callen keeping her from resigning for a long time; everyone knew that. They would, of course, get a new operations manager and probably one of them would be made team leader. Still, it wouldn't be the same anymore. Not for Sam, not for Kensi and not for Deeks. Probably not for Nell and Eric.

Not without G. Callen.

_Fin_


End file.
